Lawrence Kenny
Encyclopedia
Father Lawrence Kenny was a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest
who was also an exorcist.
He participated in the exorcism
, in St. Louis, Missouri
, of a thirteen year old Lutheran boy who became possessed after using a Ouija board
. This was the case on which William Peter Blatty
based his novel The Exorcist
. Father William S. Bowdern
who led the exorcism, was aided by fellow Jesuit priest Father Raymond Bishop. Jesuit seminary student Walter Halloran also assisted.
Father Kenny worked for years at St. Louis University where he was in charge of admissions for a time. He died in St. Louis, Missouri in January 1977.
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
who was also an exorcist.
He participated in the exorcism
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
, in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, of a thirteen year old Lutheran boy who became possessed after using a Ouija board
Ouija Board
Ouija Board is a Thoroughbred mare racehorse owned by Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby and trained by Ed Dunlop. In a career spanning four seasons, she won 10 of her 22 races, 7 of them Group 1s, including the Epsom Oaks in 2004 and the Hong Kong Vase in 2005...
. This was the case on which William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty
William Peter Blatty is an American writer and filmmaker. The novel The Exorcist, written in 1971, is his magnum opus; he also penned the subsequent screenplay version of the film, for which he won an Academy Award....
based his novel The Exorcist
The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a novel of supernatural suspense by William Peter Blatty, published by Harper & Row in 1971. It was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit school...
. Father William S. Bowdern
William S. Bowdern
Father William S. Bowdern, S.J. was a Jesuit Roman Catholic priest in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. He was the author of The Problems of Courtship and Marriage printed by Our Sunday Visitor in 1939. He was a graduate of and taught at St. Louis University High School; he also taught at St....
who led the exorcism, was aided by fellow Jesuit priest Father Raymond Bishop. Jesuit seminary student Walter Halloran also assisted.
Father Kenny worked for years at St. Louis University where he was in charge of admissions for a time. He died in St. Louis, Missouri in January 1977.
External links
- Movie 'Exorcist' Got It Right, Say Priests Who Cast Out Demons
- The St.Louis Exorcism Case!The Story that Became the Exorcist!
Related Books
- Possessed: The True Story of an Exorcism, Thomas B. Allen, 1993, ISBN 0-553-47177-5